Platte Valley sweeps doubleheader

With just a week’s worth of practice to prepare, Holyoke High School softball opened its 2019 season Aug. 20 with a home doubleheader against the Platte Valley Broncos.

Though Platte Valley went home with two wins, 19-3 and 11-3, the early competition has given the Dragons a good idea of what needs to be worked on before this weekend’s tournament. Where early efforts were focused on defense and getting the outfield set, coach Sherman Kage said that the team will be hitting offense hard in preparation for upcoming games.

“Our biggest downfall, beside field errors, was lack of offense,” he said of last week’s Platte Valley games.

Holyoke 3, Platte Valley 19

To put it bluntly, Tuesday’s first game was a blowout. Because of the mercy rule, it lasted just three innings, and the Broncos finished ahead 19-3.

Platte Valley got in some solid hits and took full advantage of bases taken on balls, posting four runs in the first inning. Taking a turn at bat, Holyoke’s Lauren Herman sent the ball sailing to the fence for a double. Correy Koellner followed with a single, and Shianne Willmon hit a double. Each of the three ended up scoring, putting the score at 4-3 after one inning.

The Broncos doubled their score in the second inning. Emma Thompson and Sarah Razo managed to get on base with singles, but Platte Valley ultimately kept the Dragons from scoring.

Going into the third with an 8-3 lead, Platte Valley racked up 11 more runs before finishing off the game with three quick outs for a 19-3 victory.

Razo started on the mound for the Dragons. In 2.2 innings, she faced 27 batters. She struck out one, walked five, and gave up 13 hits and 14 earned runs. Haley Van Overbeke threw the remainder of the third inning in relief. Facing four batters, she struck out one, walked one, and allowed two hits and two earned runs.

Also on the stat sheet, Emali Torres had one stolen base and Willmon one RBI.

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